RRD Passion MK8 9m 2016

At A Glance

The RRD Passion has been in the lineup for years now, and there are many fans of this great kite around the world. The Passion is RRD's big air and freerides kite, offering stability and boost in plentiful amounts. The Passion MK8 has had a huge overhaul for this year, with lots of changes to improve the performance. Stripping two of the struts away has resulted in a kite, which is lighter, faster and more powerful. RRD have also tweaked the profile shape and the aspect ratio to get even more power and boost from the kite. The diameter of the bridle has been increased by 1mm and the bridle now features a double pulley system too. Not only this, the trailing edge shape has been improved upon as well, all in all, a host of updates for what has been a hugely popular kite for the brand!

A 3m version has also been added to the lineup delivery schools and kids in mind as customers, which is great to see!

The Bar

The Passion MK8 is designed to be used with the Global Bar V7. This bar is very well thought out, with integrated chunky bar ends, and a coated centre line. The depower uses an efficient cleat system, with a large tag to hold onto, especially useful for those with shorter arms. That said, we could reach the depower easily even with the kite at 12 o clock no problem.

The chicken loop is of a good size and solid construction, and the donkey dick is easy to shift to the side should you wish to unhook. The Global Bar’s quick release uses the industry standard push away method and is of a very high quality. An ergonomic design positions your hand in the best spot to easily deploy the release, and reconnecting is incredibly quick and straightforward.

RRD have spent considerable time developing their ‘Rigid Thread Lines’. The unidirectional structure of these lines, unlike conventional lines, provides a fibre memory, which is more efficient through the sky. There is a large stopper ball, which is very effective, and again is well designed and easy to move around.

In The Air

This Poison MK8 is incredibly solid and stable overhead, indicating meticulous design and quality, it is very well balanced. The power delivery is also really smooth, diving the kite will pull you out of the water with ease with no sudden spikes in energy making handling intuitive. The Passion MK8 sits fairly deep in the window, so you do need to edge quite hard to get good upwind angles when cruising along. This set back in the window nature though delivers plenty of low-end power without too much input from the rider making it a real sheet and go kite, perfect for beginners and riders who prefer not to have to put too much input into the kite they are flying.

Small mistakes with timing and edging are easily forgiven by the kite, and it would be a great kite to progress with. For those just starting out, even riding straight downwind towards the kite will not make it fall out the sky, it will naturally drift in front of you waiting for your next command. In terms of handling it’s not the fastest 9m kite in the stable, although with the bar fully sheeted in you can initiate a quicker turn. This characteristic is a blessing for those still learning and riders who wish for an easy cruiser. Jumping is a whole heap of fun with the Passion MK8 and is where the kite comes alive. The stability while in the air is fantastic and even if you make a few mistakes with the timing the kite will not punish you, rather keep floating through the sky and returning you safely to the water. The hangtime is immense and we had plenty of smiles on our faces as we flew through the air!

Unhooking is great, and the less twitchy nature of the kite is very encouraging here. While not a C kite, the Passion MK8 won't go entirely ‘slack’ but the smooth power delivery will inspire confidence during your moves and encourage you to throw more and more. The relaunch is excellent. In fact, it’s hard to find a kite which is not good these days, but the Passion rolls over quickly and swiftly.

The depower of the Passion MK8 is very impressive, giving it a huge wind range. The low end of the kite is superb; its deeper position in the window that we discussed before gets you going early. Likewise, the top end is very impressive, seemingly limitless, in fact, the only thing that stops you from staying out is that the handling gets reduced once the kite reaches its limits. The RRD Passion MK8 has an enormous sweet spot though and we had lots of fun boosting huge jumps when the wind was up!

For

Against

While this is a three strut kite, don’t think of it as being in the same category as many of the other three strut kites out there. The Passion MK8 doesn’t have Bandit or Enduro handling but still fits firmly in the Switchblade and Rebel handling spectrum. It is stable, dependable and with huge boosting possibilities.

Brand

20,280

By RRD

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Misc

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